1978 Porsche 911SC

Details

The Porsche story is a fascinating one and its roots go back to the 1930’s when Professor Ferdinand Porsche was instrumental in the design of the first Volkswagen and also Auto Union race cars. By 1939 he had built three Porsche cars to compete in the 800-mile race from Berlin to Rome. Unfortunately, the race was cancelled due to the war and Porsche was forced to focus on supporting the German war effort, however, he had always wanted to build his own cars. In 1944 Porsche was forced to leave Stuttgart and he set up a small operation in Gmünd, Austria. Soon after the Porsche family and many of their engineers were captured and sent to jail. Ferdinand Porsche’s son. Ferdinand junior, or ‘Ferry’ as he was known, was released six months later and he returned to Gmünd to rebuild the family company. Things moved quickly and Porsche was involved with cars again and in mid-1948 the first Porsche 356 was built. It is understood Porsche built some 50 aluminium bodied cars by hand in their small factory at Gmünd before relocating back to Stuttgart, Germany. The rest they say is history as the 356 evolved into one of the most successful sports cars ever built. A hard act to follow indeed . . . but its replacement, the Porsche 911 went on to become a legend!

The evolution of the Porsche 911 is probably the greatest sports car story of all time. First introduced in 1963 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and then designated as a 901, the successor to the 356 took the world by storm. To avoid conflict with Peugeot, who claimed exclusive rights to car names with three digits having a ‘zero’ in the middle, the car was renamed as 911. The first production 911 was built in 1964 and it was powered by an air cooled 1991cc 6-cylinder engine. The car evolved with increases in engine capacity to 2.2 litres, 2.4 litres, 2.7 litres, 3.0 litres and 3.3 litres. There were styling changes also, but one always recognised the car as a 911. Today the first series of 911’s is recognised as the cars built from 1963 to 1989 and include the very popular Porsche 911 and 930 Turbo models. Of these the ‘small bumper’ or ‘pre impact bumper’ cars built up to 1973 are today regarded as the real classic 911, however, that comes at a price. In the last few years astute collectors and enthusiasts have seen great value in 1970’s and 1980’s model 911’s.

The Porsche 911 SC (Super Carrera) was introduced in 1978 as a successor to the 911 Carrera 3.0. Interestingly, it was the first time the SC designation had been used since the Porsche 356 SC. The 911 SC featured a 3.0 litre aluminium engine with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection and a 5-speed 915 transmission. For many years Porsche had used magnesium fir their engines blocks. The move to aluminium was driven by the search for reliability.  The Porsche 911 SC was available in three versions, the coupe, the targa and from 1982 (MY83) as a cabriolet. In fact, the Porsche 911 SC cabriolet was the first cabriolet since the 356 from the mid 1960’s.

In 1979 Porsche started making plans to replace the 911 with a brand-new car. The Porsche 928. However sales for the 911 remained so strong that management changed their mind and decided to continue building the 911 next to the 928.

The 911 SC remained in production through until 1983 and in total 58,914 cars were built. It was then succeeded by the Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2.

Oldtimer Australia is delighted to offer for sale a 1978 (MY79) Porsche 911 SC.

Porsche Australia has confirmed this particular car is an Australian delivered, factory right hand drive Porsche 911 SC Coupe. The car was delivered with a 5-speed gearbox in copper brown metallic with a cork leatherette interior. It was delivered with the following options: 261 (passenger door mirror), 425 (rear window wiper), 495 (black parts instead of chrome) and 650 (sun roof). The car is confirmed as ‘matching numbers’.

Unfortunately, little is known about the early history of this car. We do know that it was sold new in South Australia and at some stage found its way to Western Australia.

The oldest invoice in the history file is from February 2000. At that time the car was in the possession of Prestige Formula in Frewville, South Australia. The invoice notes the odometer reading as 174,304 km. Quite a bit of work was done to the car to prepare it for sale to the next owner. At that time the car was registered in South Australia as AA364D. In 2003 the car was sold to its next owner, also in South Australia, and the car was subsequently registered as WWC150. There is a prepurchase inspection report on file dated 11^th March 2003 from Chateau Moteur in Adelaide. On the prepurchase inspection report the mileage is noted as 176,517 km.

In 2010 the car was sold to its next owner in Perth, Western Australia and it was then registered in WA as 1DLV780. Again, a prepurchase inspection was done, this time by Trivett Parramatta and the mileage on the inspection report is noted as 209,149 km. The inspection report identified a number of issues with the car which suggested it was tired. A deal was struck and the car’s new owner, who must have been a real enthusiast, decided to purchase the car and go on the journey of bringing it back to its former glory.

The car was given to Porsche specialist Rennsport in Fremantle to fix the majority of the issues. The owner himself ordered around $12,000 worth of parts from Pelican Parts in California. All these parts were fitted by Rennsport. The thick history file confirms that over the next 10 years the owner spent quite a bit of money on his Porsche. In 2021 a new stainless steel exhaust and a pair of stainless steel heater boxes were fitted. Shortly after the car was sold to its current owner in Queensland. The car has been sparingly used by its current owner and a change in his circumstances has resulted in it now being offered for sale.

Today this Porsche 911 SC presents really well. We just love the colour of this car! The copper brown metallic paint work is unique and still has a nice deep gloss finish. Given its condition, it has most likely been repainted at some stage in its life. There are some stone chips on the bonnet and around the headlights, consistent with a car that carries an older repaint. All the exterior trim on this car is in good condition as is all the glass and the headlights. The lenses on the indicators at the front are in good condition. The tail light lenses look fine from about a meter away, but upon closer inspection there are some small cracks around the screws on both sides. The option code states this car was delivered new with a rear window wiper but that must have been removed at some stage as it is no longer on the car.

The interior of this Porsche is a nice place to be. The cork colour interior complements the exterior copper brown metallic paint work nicely. The seats are in good condition and still provide ample support. The fabric material on the base of the seats appears to have stretched a bit over the years but there are no tears in the seats. The rear seats are in good condition. They look like they have hardly been used, which is not uncommon in a 911. All the instruments are in working order and the dash is in good condition, with no cracks.

On our recent test drive the car performed well. It is fitted with an after market security alarm and following a push of the button on the key fob you turn the key and the engine starts easily. The car has an upgraded exhaust system which gives it an aggressive, but not overly load exhaust note. The clutch has probably been upgraded on this car as from take off it is a quite ‘on off’ and it does take some getting used to. That said, once you’re driving it has a good feel and it is easy to use. The suspension is tight and the car feels rock solid on the road. It is firm but not overly hard. The engine feels strong and the gearbox works well. It is very common that the linkages are sloppy on this era of 911 and 930, but not on this car. If you get the urge and put your foot down the car has no hesitation in accelerating quite hard. In fact, once you get above 3,000 rpm it just wants to go! The brakes are good and pull the car up in a straight line.

In summary this car performs as you would expect. It drives well really well and it’s hard to believe that you are driving a 43 year old car.

Today the odometer reads 228,186 km.

This car is accompanied by a good history file, tool kit, jack and compressor. There is also the original steering wheel, the original exhaust system and also a whale tail.

Highlights:

• Australian delivered, factory right hand drive Porsche 911 SC with air conditioning and factory sunroof.
• Unique colour combination of copper brown metallic with a cork leatherette interior.
• Excellent history file from 2000, confirming the car has been very well maintained.
• Well presented and ready for its next owner to use and enjoy.

Price –

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